Lottie Ryan says it was ‘awful’ leaving her family home for last time
The presenter revealed she took “lots of old photos” and some of her dad Gerry’s awards in an emotional goodbye to her childhood home.
Lottie Ryan
The Ryan family home.
Lottie Ryan has described the “emotional” moment she said goodbye to her childhood home after it was sold.
The presenter’s mum Morah moved out of the house on Castle Avenue in Clontarf last year, giving her a “fresh start.”
Mum-of-one Lottie told RSVP Magazine that saying goodbye to the Dublin home “was awful.”
"I knew that my mum wanted to move on for a long time. In that sense I had been preparing mentally, but I didn’t expect to be so emotional to let go.
"I don’t remember living anywhere else, my whole life was spent inside that house.
"The inside of those walls have seen my entire life. All my traditions and milestones took place there. I found it really difficult when my family was gathered by my mum.
"She had laid out a load of memorabilia for us to take. The house was empty and suddenly it was just a shell,” she said.
"I walked around the house and said my goodbyes and thank yous to all the rooms. I don’t know if that is weird, but I did it nonetheless.
"It was time for another family to live there because we had all moved on.
"I hope it brings as much joy to them as it did for us. It is strange to let go of our childhood home, but I’m delighted for my mum because she has this fresh start."
The Ryan family home.
She added: "There was a last Sunday lunch and there was a day when we called to collect all the bits and bobs.
"I left pretty early because I got very upset. I didn’t think I could do the big goodbye. Everyone did their own small thing to say goodbye."
"I took lots of old photos, a statue we got of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse 30 years ago, it used to be over the fireplace in the back room, and a couple of my dad’s awards.
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"It’s funny,” she told RSVP. “You realise that crap doesn’t matter. When we were going through it all, nobody wanted the things, but we all fought over the pictures.
"You accumulate so much over the years, but most of it doesn’t really matter. We all wanted the pillow we slept on when we were five or the family albums."
It was recently revealed the Clontarf period home sold for €1.5 million, and the mum-of-five moved into another place nearby.
Gerry, who passed away in 2010 at the age of 53, shared the house in the north Dublin suburb prior to the couple’s split in 2008.
